The governing All Progressives Congress (APC) will hold its long-awaited National Caucus and National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting on Tuesday in Abuja.
The meeting, which was originally scheduled for last Tuesday, was postponed through a very short message signed by the National Secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore.
In the statement, Omisore said the meeting was postponed as a result of President Bola Tinubu’s involvement in the activities of the Economic Community of the West African States (ECOWAS).
“Members of the National Caucus and NEC of APC are hereby informed that our meetings of 10th and 11th of July, 2023, have been postponed to the 18th and 19th of July, 2023, respectively.
“The postponement is necessitated by the regional and sub-regional schedules and engagements of President Tinubu, as the new Chairman of ECOWAS. Inconveniences regretted,” the statement read.
Political analysts and watchers of political developments in the country, however, believe that the postponement of the meeting has heightened the apprehensive atmosphere within the party’s hierarchy as many are imagining what will become the outcome of the meeting.
According to the party’s constitution, the NEC Meeting is supposed to hold statutorily every quarter of the year, but this has not been possible more than one year since the current leadership came into existence. This is seen as a clear violation of the party’s statute.
Article 25(B)(I and ii) of the APC constitution, stipulates that “(i) NEC shall meet every quarter and or at any time decided by the National Chairman or at the request made in writing by at least two-thirds of the members of the NEC, provided that not less than fourteen (14) days’ notice is given for the meeting to be summoned.
“(ii) Without prejudice to Article 25(B)(i) of this Constitution, the NWC may summon an emergency NEC meeting at any time, provided that at least seven (7) days’ notice of the meeting shall be given to all those entitled to attend.”
THEWILL recalled that the APC NEC ceded its powers to the NWC for 90 days during the first meeting held last year. After the expiration of the 90 days, there seems to be no conscious effort by the Abdullahi Adamu-led National Working Committee to organise NEC meetings until the one fixed for Tuesday.
As the party gets set for the NEC meeting, there is evidence to show that there is a crisis of confidence between the National Chairman of the party, Abdullahi Adamu and the President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Sources revealed that Adamu, who supported Ahmed Lawan during the party’s presidential primary, has not been well at home with President Tinubu since he assumed power on May 29, 2023.
The frosty relationship between the duo came to the open recently as he openly criticised the unilateral decision of the President and the National Assembly leadership in picking the principal officers of the assembly without input from the party’s NWC.
Adamu, who felt the need to assert the party’s supremacy, decided to openly challenge the decision.
The existing tradition, with regard to the election of principal officers of the National Assembly after the emergence of the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House, is that the caucus of the party at the NASS selects the officers and seeks the approval of the NWC, composed of elected administrative executives of the party and the National Executive Committee comprising the President, Vice President, all elected state governors on the platform of the party and the leadership of both the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly.
Adamu was said to have been peeved by the sidelining of the party’s NWC in picking of the principal officers of the National Assembly..
“I had a courtesy call on Saturday from the President of the Senate and his deputy. The following day, which was Sunday, I received a visit from the Speaker and his deputy coming to me for Sallah’s homage,” a visibly angry Adamu told Governors during a meeting with them.
He said, “I am just hearing rumours now from the online media that there have been some announcements in the Senate and House of Representatives. The national headquarters of the party or the NWC has not given any such information or communicated about the choice of the remaining offices and until we formally resolve and communicate to them in writing which is the normal practice as had been done before we came here, it is not our intention to break away from tradition.
“So, whatever announcement is done either by the President of the Senate, Deputy Senate President, Speaker or Deputy Speaker, is not from this secretariat.”
Another issue before the party before the NEC meeting is the protracted leadership crisis within the NWC and the alleged lack of financial accountability.
Watchers of political developments believe there is mutual suspicion in the NWC.
This, however, reached a crescendo shortly after the declaration of Tinubu as President-elect, with the National Vice Chairman (North West) of the party, Salihu Moh Lukman demanding Adamu’s resignation as a way of balancing the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the Presidency.
He called on Adamu to make a sacrifice, saying it would be important that every necessary step is taken to inject a change of leadership for the party so that a new National Chairman who is a Christian takes over.
He said he is not opposed to the North Central retaining the National Chairmanship of the party. He engaged Adamu in an open battle.
Lukman, in the long-drawn battle with Adamu, listed his multiple sins to include the draconian administrative styles to reckless financial management of the party.
Reacting to Lukman’s attack on Adamu, Omisore said Adamu didn’t come to meetings and that he was not in a position to tell Adamu to resign.
Tinubu is however said to be favourably disposed to seeing Adamu’s back as the National Chairman. As reported by THEWILL, former Governor of Plateau State and Director-General of the APC/PCC, Simon Lalong, looks good to be the preferred National Chairman in the event of a convention.
Aware of the stakes at play, Lalong who had been leading a faction of the party in Plateau, Penultimate Thursday held a meeting with the faction led by ex-Governor Joshua Dariye and other party stakeholders. The need to present a united front in the face of many appointments yet to be made by the President had become necessary for Tinubu’s campaign DG.
What is happening should not surprise anyone. If his own party leaders were prepared to sabotage his emergence as president, Tinubu should not be blamed for wanting to have his men and trusted aides and loyal party men and women to work with, said a dependable source.
About the Author
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.
